not sure where to post? hornady TAP for deer ?

peabody

Beginner
Dec 4, 2009
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hello. my 1st post here, im in missouri, its legal to hunt deer with a .223...

i have some 55gr, hornady TAP , FPD ammo, wondering ? what do those letters mean ?
be a good deer bullet ?

whats you guys think ?

also have hornady 75gr, HPBT, MATCH.

which , weight bullet would you use ?

and why ?


thank you.

peabody
 
peabody

Welcome to the forum, glad to have you here.

IMHO, the 22 cals are not deer hunting calibers. I know there are some that have used them with success but they lack the diameter, bullet weight and energy to reliability harvest deer.

JD338
 
Peabody,

Jim is correct. Just because a calibre is legal does not mean that it is wise to use it. .224 lacks frontal area and mass to provide a clean kill under less than ideal conditions.
 
TAP means "Tactical Application Police."

Terminal results from the .223 TAP generally fall into the "plenty of expansion, not much penetration" area... Not surprisingly as the TAP ammo is typically loaded with either the V-Max varmint bullet or the A-Max target bullet. Both tend to expand very quickly, but not penetrate real well.

A fellow I know uses Hornady A-Max bullets for his big game shooting, because it is very accurate, and expands readily. He's taken game as large as elk with no problems, but he's one heck of a shot... He uses a .308 Win or a .300 Win mag though, not a .223 rifle.

If a fellow was dead-set on taking deer with the .223, I'd recommend ammo with the 60 grain Nosler Partition. I've had to shoot a few injured deer over the years, and a .223 is pretty marginal for the job, in my experience.

FWIW, Guy
 
Do not do it. These are frangible rounds designed ti penetrate bad guys and disintegrate inside. No penetration.
 
thanks guys, i understand whats your saying about the .223.
befour i do any hunting with this AR, im setting it up with the best bullet i can find, my shots will not be over 50 yeards from my stand.

my rifle is 1:7 twist, so im trying to find as heavy as i can.
after researching, , i think ? barnes 70 grainers, TSX's, is the way to go.

please dont think im bragging, im not a bad shot, i've harvested dozens of deer, neck and head shots , with the good ol' 30-06,
i realize the o6' is one heck of a deer caliber, and the .223 is a little light.
several neighbors hunt with the .223, all have had good results.

this is just something i want to try,
this AR, is super accurate, will work up some loads with the barnes, see how she does.

peabody
 
yes, and thanks guy's in not going to use the TAP ammo,

will work up a load or two of the barnes, and putt it on paper first.

peabody
 
Guy has it right. Tap rounds are designed to not shoot throught the bad guys, or the walls behind them. Not the best characteristics for big game hunting.

I tested the 60gr Partition out of my .223 on milk jugs. It made it all the way to the 9th jug. Again the .223 is not my first choice for deer, but if I had to, the 60gr Partition would be my choice.
 
I shot a doe several years ago with my AR15 and handloaded 64gr Win Powerpoints. It is a pretty devestating round and had enough left in it to exit as well.
 
Given good shot placement you would do well with the 53-70gr TSX and 60gr Partiton. Behind the shoulder shots are best. I have seen several whitetails taken with 223 and 22-250. Generally a good expanding bullet 55gr and up will totally take out the lungs of a whitetail, Bullets may exit or may not but the lungs will be toast. My buddy has used the 62gr TSX for coyotes wolves and blacktail deer. I woudn't hesitate to take a solid heart/lung body shot on even a large whitetail with these bullets.
 
If you hand load the 77 gr Berger VLD and Accurate 2520 powder is a real killer. I have not tried it but know other reliable people that use these to hog hunt. They say they will shoot through both shoulders of a big hog and kill them like the hammer of Thor. They should work very well on deer. Your 7 twist will shoot them great. Also Sierra makes a GAME KING 55 gr bullet now. It has a thicker jacket than their standard 55 gr bullet and I am also told that they really work well on deer. Store bought ammo you already have covered with the Barns and Nosler Partition.
 
TAP rounds do not penetrate enough. I know of a 16 year old kid that stopped two with his chest area and neither exited.

Corey
 
How big are your deer?

I am in complete agreement with the guys that say you should not be using the TAP or for that matter any varmint bullet for deer hunting. Of course you can kill deer with these bullets and lots of folks do. The problem is when some thing goes wrong you have a wounded deer and most likely no blood trail. The match grade hollow points that I have used really come apart on coyotes I can only assume that they would also come apart on deer without much penetration.

The point for asking the size question is that the size of deer can vary a lot. A big western or upper mid western buck of either species can go over 300 lbs. My biggest bodied buck was 190 lbs quartered (rack was an ugly 4 X 5). This old muley lived his entire life eating alfalfa and appeared to have given up on the doe chasing game. The the physical requirements to put him down cleanly are going to be more demanding then that of a deer that weighs in at 100 lbs soaking wet. If you are going to use a .223 rem for deer I would pick the 60 grain partitions, practice a whole bunch, and be very disaplined about placing my shots. I know some will have heart failure but one nice thing about an AR (my primary coyote gun because they hold up to being packed around on a tractor)is that you can accurately send a number of rounds down range in a hurry. PLEASE IF YOU ARE HUNTING DEER REFRAIN FROM SPRAY AND PRAY. If the deer twitches shoot it again.
 
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